Time and Again
by NotZoni
Summary: Inuyasha and company find out the true terror behind death. And that some things are never final. Complete.
1. Chapter One

**Time and Again**  
_ by Zoni S. Nirii _

  


The smoke across the field of broken tree stumps and charred grass was steadily thickening as the battle against Naraku continued. The sounds of metal against metal whipped through the air. Energy waves tearing through cloth and skin and the eternally harsh currents of wind that kept blowing out of control thanks to Kagura seemed to electrify the air. This was one time when the word silent could have never been applied, and at the moment any thought of sound or the lack there of was the furthest thing from the minds of those fighting. On the field the six fighters were each facing their own enemies.   
Naraku himself seemed to be everywhere at once. Most of the field was a mass of writhing tentacles, sending shattered tree limbs and occasionally animals or people flying through the air with every raucous movement. His twisted face, now only barely resembling anything human, was turned to face Inuyasha. Laughing maniacally the once-handsome features were pulled taught over a phantom skeleton. Inuyasha was standing as tall as was possible, Tetsusaiga in hand and practically bristling with his anger. This was it, the moment he'd been waiting years to see...the end of Naraku. He'd have his revenge for himself...for Kikyou....for anyone who had ever been dragged into this war for whatever reason. Vengeance was his.  
Stationed directly behind the hanyou was Kagome. For the first time in Heavens only knows how long, the girl had managed to get a few arrows off before she was attacked. Bow in hand, hair wild and eyes blazing she was more into this battle than she'd ever been. The outsider dragged into a fight; she had no real reason to be here and fighting this battle but she was anxious to do her part. She pulled an arrow from the quiver on her back as if the motion were the most natural thing on Earth to her and set it in place against the bowstring. Her fight was for her friends, each and every arrow that she loosed was aimed with anger towards the pain that Naraku had caused her companions.  
A good distance away stood Miroku. His robes billowing in the wind, hair loosed from it's usual binding and Kazaana pulling hard against the magical currents created by Kagura....he was concentrating on nothing but the fight. The remnants of his staff could be seen scattered about the ground around him. The monks left hand was bracing his right arm, now rapidly shaking as if it were determined to lose control. There was little doubt in his mind as to the fact that this fight might be the end of him. Determined to at least get this much done, he was not holding back in the slightest. The curse that Naraku had placed on his hand would be the end of it's creator or at least one of it's creators children. To fulfill his father and grandfathers wishes before him, this was his fight.  
Almost entirely across the field itself at the very edge of a ruined forest Sango was fighting her own demons. Kohaku had been mercilessly attacking for the past quarter hour. His sharp scythe ripping through the air to tear at her armor and skin time and time again before returning to the hand of it's dead master. Unwilling to strike back with lethal force but also unwilling to leave her brothers side, Sango merely fended off the attacks using Hiraikotsu as a shield. Occasionally taking a halfhearted swing at him with the oversized weapon; she wasn't certain that she could finish this battle. To kill her brother and kill herself, that was her mission. Revenge for her father and the whole of her village as well as the end of their simple culture. New strength surged through her and she reached for the sword tied at her side; her mission would be completed. It was her duty.   
Away from everyone, Shippou was fighting a lethal enemy of his own. Kanna. Her mirror already shattered by some quickly forgotten enemy, the girl was standing nearly motionless, still holding the frame and few shards of pale glass that remained. Those shards of glass seemed to offer some power though. An eerie aura drifting about her seemed to keep Shippou far enough away for her comfort. Not that the pale, creepy child really showed any emotion. Shippou was fighting for a few reasons, the main one being that he wanted to protect his friends. The second that he was almost (though not quite) tired of running away or avoiding a fight. After all, he may just be a kid but he could fight too. He just liked to let the big people do it occasionally too. However, both his protector Sango and his most trusted friend Kagome were well out of reach. He was forced to defend himself for once.  
A youkai swarm had isolated Kirara. The nekomatta was on her paws and roaring boldly in the faces of more than fifty fairly strong creatures. Struggling a few step forward and sinking heavy fangs into the nearest youkai, the feline attempted to make some headway to her master. The fight wasn't going well, however. For every step forward that she took she was forced two steps back. Flames blazing around her, the shapeshifter growled her frustration to the youkai around her.  
  
Naraku had not once stopped laughing. Unbelievably arrogant, confident to no end and somehow still allowing endless opportunities to attack present themselves seemingly without care. In a semicircle around a good portion of him the ground was pushed up and out; trail marks of a recent Kaze no Kizu that had not hit its mark. The only Kaze no Kizu that Inuyasha had been able to manage before Kagura had been ordered to direct the wind so that Inuyasha could no longer use the attack. The distance between the two hanyou was remarkably small and the towering presence of Naraku's raw form threw shadows of Inuyasha, even in the dimming moonlight. To any outside observer it would have looked like a total standstill. Inuyasha's hair stood on end almost, rather like a cat, as he growled out countless curses and insults at the top of his lungs and under his breath. Golden eyes darted this way and that to look for a weakness; any weakness...something that would allow him to make easy work of this. He'd been dead fifty years thanks to this bastard who had turned Kikyou and he against each other. It was about damn time that he got some payback. However, fate was never kind and there was no doubt what so ever in his mind that if there was a weakness he'd have to look for it.  
"Kagome! His shard! Where is it?!" barked Inuyasha. He backed up a step instinctively, reminding himself that he also had her to protect. The girl also backed up a step, though she let an arrow fly while doing it. Sneaking a glance back towards the towering form of Naraku that, oddly, wasn't attacking but seemed rather to be waiting for something. The familiar chilling aura of the Shikon no Tama could be both seen and felt radiating from him. Unbelievable strength and impure shards.   
"They're directly in the center!" she called. Fumbling with one hand to grab another arrow, fingers pulling at the tufted shaft before setting it to the string and loosing it in the blink of an eye.   
Inuyasha nodded heartily, white hair shaking with the motion as his eyes finally set directly on those of his opponent. Lifting Tetsusaiga and preparing to charge he muttered "Keh, so that's it is it!"  
"Inuyasha, you think you can defeat me using that weak power again?" came Naraku's voice followed by a dark laugh. Countless shapeless arms waved as the enemy loomed even closer, taking extreme delight in the taunting of the hanyou.   
However, Inuyasha had noticed something. The Kaze no Kizu hadn't penetrated Naraku's barrier, true...nor would Tetsusaiga ever be able to break such power by any given means to his knowledge....but he had located Naraku's weakness. In an attempt to fight off larger attacks or seem more menacing, Naraku had spread himself across an extremely large amount of ground. As a result, his shield was weaker in two points. The first point was, undoubtedly, towards the forest facing away from Inuyasha. But the second...the second was in the ground. All along the ground, maybe five feet under the shield was breaking. Inuyasha's nose twitched lightly as he examined this fact; the shield was barely cracked but he could still smell that bastard through it. Shields like those that Naraku loved so much often dampened scent and presence...but now it was as if he had no shield up at all. If only he could get Kaze no Kizu to hit that exact spot.... 

Miroku's grip with his left hand tightened. The force that Kazaana was unleashing at the moment, at the height of its power, felt as if it might rip the entire Earth apart. A strong pulse of pain was now shooting through his right arm at regular intervals and it was shaking almost to the point where it was about to rip itself out from the hold he was keeping on it with his left hand. The monk pressed his feet into the ground as if afraid of being blown away and stared angrily up at his opponent far above the battle field. Kagura had surrounded herself with a powerful chaotic wind that was almost entirely defeating the effect of Kazaana. However, the wind youkai was having trouble keeping that up and it was obvious. Slowly he was getting the upper hand.  
Suddenly Kagura stopped fighting the current, instead she turned a strong blast of wind to push her out of the way of the Kazaana and turned towards where her master, Inuyasha and Kagome were fighting. Miroku saw what was going to happen but he was frozen in place. Unable to regain control of his arm and almost afraid of letting go of it with his left arm. It was the most he could do to yell out, "Inuyasha! Kagura's going to try something!"

Kagura watched the scene from high above. Inuyasha had lifted Tetsusaiga and was preparing to use Kaze no Kizu the second that the infernal winds around him had stopped carrying the youki away from his sight. Kagome too was readying for another strike. Her powerful mikos arrow was held taught against the bowstring and she was frowning out at a particularly ugly youkai a hundred or so feet away from her. Kagura smirked. This was perfect. She grabbed her fan and pulled it in front of her face. Now to wait for the perfect moment. 

Inuyasha turned just in time to see Kagome's arrow fly. The twang from the bow as it spun off from the movement seemed to be the trigger for what happened next. The arrow flew about half way to it's opponent before it was snatched out of the sky by a powerful current of wind. The dart turned around and flew straight back to it's owner, slicing easily through her chest and out through the back of her uniform and deep into Inuyasha's thigh. Inuyasha barely even registered the searing pain of the holy arrow as it struck.  
Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Kagome didn't scream. Didn't let off a shriek or make any noise really....she just fell over. Just like that. Her shirt was soaked through with blood, indicating the proximity of the arrow to her heart. Inuyasha stared in horror, ears twitching as he could hear her heart give off a faint pulse. And another. And another. And then nothing.   
"KAGOME!" Dropping Tetsusaiga at his side, Inuyasha turned to fall down on his knees next to her. The battle seemed to have come to a complete halt as everyone in the area began to realize what had happened. Inuyasha just sat like that for a moment, as if not touching her might bring some sign of life back. After a moment his head lowered slowly towards his own chest as he began to heave himself back up onto his feet. Turning around almost painfully slow, he reached down to his leg and pulled the arrow forcefully from it, showing no sign of even noticing the slightest pain at doing so. The hanyou growled, low and dangerous, in a way that terrified the lesser youkai around him. He turned his head to face Kagura, still floating a hundred feet in the air on her giant feather. His eyes flushed blood red. Even with Tetsusaiga, he was bordering on his full youkai form. It was held at bay only by a sliver of will.   
"Fucking bitch, get down here so I can tear you apart!" roared Inuyasha. His voice was thick with rage, hands already quirked and obviously ready to tear apart the object of his hatred. Kagura however seemed to be too stunned to do anything, let alone move. Inuyasha let out a nearly inaudible curse under his breath and then tensed himself close to the ground once more. In a single instant he had shot impossibly high into the air. One hand reached out above the other, muscles straining as his fist closed around strands of plumage. His other hand reached over and grabbed hold of Kagura's kimono. Kagura hadn't had a chance to move once the hanyou had launched himself towards her from the ground. She let out a light shriek as Inuyasha used all of his strength to fix a strangle hold on her right ankle and sent her hurtling to the ground with a single motion of his arm. Her back and head slammed into the ground leaving a small wave of dirt, sand and grass around her as she lifted herself to sit up before Inuyasha came flying down from above for a second attack. One clawed hand wrenched forward and gripped her hair. The other hand went directly through her throat and, catching hold, twisted. A froth of bloody bubbles sprang forth around his hand as Kagura's body went into a series of convulsions. The sound of bones crunching as well as the sickening hiss that was her response to the attack could be heard even by Sango, who stopped fighting long enough to turn and see what was going on.   
Kagura was no longer recognizable. Her facial features twisted with the torture, her entire form covered in her own blood and her fan now clearly visible, sticking through the fabric of her clothing where she'd impaled herself on it during the fall. Inuyasha tightened and loosened the grip several more times until he could no longer hear a satisfying crunch and smelled the edge of death. Only then did he release his grip. At that moment however he heard something which infuriated him even more. Laughter. Naraku was laughing at him. At the death of his offspring Kagura. At the death of Kagome. He was enjoying it.   
Inuyasha retrieved Tetsusaiga. He'd had enough messing around, it was finally time to finish this. Aiming at the weak spot he could still smell, he unleashed Kaze no Kizu. The strength amplified infinitely be it through his anger or the large amount of youki in the air no one knew. However, in only a moment a series of blinding lights cut through the shining barrier surrounding Naraku. The pink light that was the energy folded in on itself under the pressure from the attack and the crushing blades of wind fell heavily onto the occupant. Limbs separated from the main body, fluids, blood and debris shooting everywhere over a several hundred yard radius around where Naraku's main body was. His now half-human head was split in half and tossed carelessly to one side, an ear splitting scream echoing from it before being cut off prematurely. Just before the final piece of flesh and bone dissolved a small pink shard flew away from it and landed with a shallow splash in a pool of green liquid, turning black with the impure energy around it. Naraku had possessed most of the Shikon no Tama and now it was no longer in him. The last traces of him dissolved with a resounding crackle and silence fell upon the field.   
Inuyasha paused to pick up the large shard of the Shikon no Tama before going over and seating himself next to Kagome's body. He picked up one of her hands and pressed the jewel into her palm, watching it leech back to pink even though its owner was long gone. Closing her hand around it he just sat for a moment and allowed everything that had just happened to sink in. This was it, this was the end. He had been able to kill Naraku like he wanted. He now had done everything he truly wanted, other than turning full youkai, and yet for the first time in his life he felt like crying. He pulled her body up into his lap and hugged it to him in a meaningless effort to try and bring her back. He'd do anything. He didn't feel this way when his mother had died. Or when he found that Kikyou was dead. So why now?   
Miroku had just now arrived, kneeling next to Inuyasha with an unreadable expression on his face. His right hand was noticeably slack at his side, exhausted and severely strained from the effort of holding it so long with the Kazaana. He didn't say anything, however. It was likely that he didn't know what to say. He had extended his life span and removed the curse but at this cost? What was one supposed to think?   
Sango batted off a few lesser youkai with Hiraikotsu and came trotting up. She hadn't seen it earlier when watching Inuyasha finish Kagura, but now she could clearly see. "Oh my God...Kagome-chan...is she..."   
Inuyasha kept his eyes securely fixed on Kagome's lifeless features as he slowly rose to his feet, holding her close in his arms. He didn't want to have to look at the others right now. Not even acknowledging a whimpering squeak from Shippou when he arrived, his own battle finished when Naraku had died and Kanna had decided to leave, Inuyasha started walking. "Monk....you can perform the funeral, right?"  
  
And just like that it had ended. It seemed like it had happened ages ago. It had only been a little over two weeks ago. Inuyasha still felt guilty. Kagome would have rather been buried in her own time, he knew it. Knew she deserved better than she had received in the end but they had been too far away from the well to even consider returning her body to her family. Earlier that day he'd handed the Shikon no Tama shards that they had to Kaede. She hadn't said a word, like the others she hadn't known what to say. Just now he'd returned from attempting to explain to Kagome's mother what had happened. It was his responsibility, the least he could do. He'd returned her backpack and other belongings and then after delivering the information left.   
Now he was sitting beside the well with his back leaned up against it. His fingers were running over and over the beads on the rosary fastened around his neck. He hadn't tried to see if he could remove it; he didn't want to remove it any more. None of this would have happened if she'd never stumbled into the well in the first place, there had to be some way to fix it. Some way to make it so she'd never have to see any of this. It didn't matter what happened it was just...just that he never wanted to have to see that. Didn't want it to ever happen. The hanyou longed for a way to erase that from his memory, erase it from history. And then it struck him.  
There was a way.  
A determined look dawning on his face he showed that he had finally figured it out. If he destroyed the well....so completely that it could never be rebuilt then she would never have to come through the well, would she? She'd never have to shatter the Shikon no Tama...never wind up fighting for it...never die. Ripping at the sturdy logs of the well, Inuyasha began to dismantle it bit by bit. Past experiences had shown that smashing it with a rock and attempting to fill it with trees didn't work very well, and so he tried a more direct approach. He moved the last log and started digging at the sides of the well. This well was well built though, it's sides were framed by even more wood. Buried, hidden from sight...  
There was a loud crack as one of the supports shattered after Inuyasha hit it a couple times and then jumped out of the way as the wall slowly gave way and dirt filled the well. Now there was no way that -

Crack. 

Inuyasha's vision came into focus slowly, muscles already tense even before he was waking. The vines that held him to the tree and that damn burning pain in his chest were infuriating. A low growl hovering barely beneath the surface as he opened his eyes to the dark night. Staring ahead into the forest his nose could detect a scent in the distance, coming closer quickly. It was a scent that was familiar, comforting to him...but his mind was screaming enemy. As if he were watching a movie, Inuyasha heard himself speak without wanting to.   
"I can smell her, that woman who killed me..." 

_To be continued..._


	2. Chapter Two

"I can smell her, that woman who killed me. She's coming closer."  
Inuyasha was currently experiencing something far beyond his comprehension. One part of his mind was commanding him to reach for the arrow that was currently pinning him to a tree behind him and his body responded readily. A growl cut through the silence of the night as a light glow of energy signaled the rejection of his attempt to remove the seal. This part of his mind was furious at being stuck to a tree with an arrow, more helpless than a newborn baby. "Dammit!"   
That other part of his mind though already knew what was going to happen. In fact that other part of his mind was closely watching out of the corner of his eyes for some small sign of movement. For an indication of a familiar figure tumbling through the air. That part of his mind was more like an itching thought in the back of his mind than anything. Something that he could almost remember though not quite and it was waiting there, begging to be dug out of the recesses of his mind. It was the part of his mind that remembered every single thing over the next two and a half...three years.....that hadn't happened yet. A part of his mind that easily recalled people he had never met, faces he had never seen, emotions he had never felt and a life he had not yet live. A life well away from some soggy old tree that currently had one very unhappy hanyou stuck to it. As if on cue the green and white clad form of a young girl came tumbling through the canopy and down to the ground in a less than graceful landing.  
"Ouch!" The young woman was completely oblivious to his presence. Instead she was focusing on her rather minimal injuries. That part of his mind that didn't recognize anything but an unwelcome presence was furious. This was completely unacceptable! That woman? Here? Now? This was an enemy, wasn't it? No good going soft now! He had to show his defiance. Glaring down as best he could from his less than dignified position on the tree, he was certain to make a good impression.  
"Oi, Kikyou! Why are you wasting your time against some centipede?" Well, a centipede was chasing her and she was a bit too obviously incapable of fighting for herself. But why would Kikyou, a very talented archer, be running away from some wimpy bug? This wasn't like her at all. Blinking down at the ground in a rather clueless manner, Kikyou took a short minute before she pulled her head up to look just as blankly at Inuyasha.  
"You're alive?"  
Well, she didn't have to sound so amazed about it! Inuyasha opted not to respond to this since after all it would make him look less tough. Kikyou....no, this was Ka-- Kikyou. This was Kikyou. The person who had betrayed his trust. Kikyou who had pinned him to a tree. Kikyou who had stolen his life from him. Speaking perhaps more harshly than he would have if the voices in the back of his mind hadn't started telling him that this wasn't Kikyou at all and confused him, he taunted "Kill her with a single blow, Kikyou! Just like when you killed me."   
However this Kikyou didn't seem to understand a damn thing he was saying. To the contrary, she just sat there like some rather amazing statue or something. Leaning forward as best he could in his position, Inuyasha gave an inquiring look. "What's the matter, Kikyou? Lost your mind already, Kikyou?"   
This Kikyou got to her feet. Come to think of it, that clothing she was wearing was really strange. A voice in the back of his mind commented '_No, she'd be dressed strangely if she was wearing something you'd consider normal_'. That voice was pushed out of the way very quickly as she spoke.  
"Hey, wait just a minute. Kikyou? Who's this Kikyou? Listen up, you. My name is..."  
Artfully ignoring this entirely, Inuyasha said in his best bored voice "She's coming."   
No sooner had he said this then the immense body of the centipede youkai descended directly in front of Inuyasha, effectively blocking that Kikyou that his mind was telling him wasn't Kikyou at all from view. Arms spread wide, the creature moved in to latch onto the young woman. The attack was broken off suddenly when two sharp spear points lodged themselves into it's chest and tugged, securing themselves deep within the flesh. The centipede turned her massive head towards her attackers, apparently not even noticing the pain. Villagers were attacking the youkai? When had they arrived? And what was stranger, none of them seemed familiar either. Two more harpoons shot up from the group of men and fixed themselves higher up on the hard outer shell of the creature. Shouts could be heard echoing out into the forest from the group of people as they pulled in unison to drag the monster to a better position to be attacked. The youkai let out a hideous moan in response to the action. Instead of standing to attack and defend the people of her village, however, Kikyou had fallen to her knees and remained there wearing a rather worried look on her face. Under her breath Inuyasha could have sworn he'd heard her whisper that she'd been saved. What the....Hell? Kikyou was never such a wimp. But this was Kag - Inuyasha shoved that stubborn voice out of his mind that said that this person was very important, that this person was someone he knew and knew well. Sure, this was someone he knew...and had thought he knew well...this was Kikyou! So why wouldn't that goddamn voice in his head stop telling him otherwise?  
"Keh! You're hopeless, Kikyou!" shouted Inuyasha so that he was sure she heard him. The girl rounded on him immediately.  
"Hey, you!" Ooh. She was annoyed now. That was a bit better at any rate. Now she was creeping him out just a little less with the uncharacteristic attitude. Kikyou got to her feet and placed her left hand on her hip. That glare in her eyes would actually have been rather intimidating...if she hadn't looked so clueless just a minute ago at least. "Don't confuse me with someone else!"  
_What?_  
Now she was marching forward. Placing a foot on a root and stepping up so that she was practically face to face with the young man, she gave him a fiery look filled with determination and sheer frustration as she declared "I told you that I'm not Kikyou!"  
"Shut up!" shouted Inuyasha in return. Oh, he really didn't need to hear this. What with his brain telling him the exact same thing and all, it was getting very confusing. Forget Kikyou losing his mind, he was starting to think that he had. Fighting to keep his agitation from showing in his voice he asked "What other woman could possibly give off a scent like you?"   
At that precise moment however there was a slight shift in the breeze. Unable to resist the temptation, Inuyasha sampled the scent of the wind for proof that it was Kikyou. Well, hey, those voices in his head could be very persuasive after all....there was just one problem. "You're not....Kikyou."  
Damn it all, the scent was completely different! Inuyasha would have liked nothing better right about now than to have been able to make those voices in his head real just so that he could (at some future point, at least) kick them. Well, this nameless girl who looked incredibly like Kikyou was still glaring at him.  
"Got it? My name is..."  
_Kagome._  
"Ka-Go-Me!"

A simple name can be a barrier for many things. Memories most of all. Perhaps the ability to remember her name was what finally tapped the last break in those memories however suddenly Inuyasha could very clearly remember all of it. Every single minute of it...of the next three years. His mind stopped pushing against the flow of thoughts, recollections and hopes for what had...or would...happen. The hanyou currently preparing to insult who they considered to be a nameless look-a-like to a former love interest now seemed like a total stranger. Very soon now the Shikon no Tama would be reborn for the first time in fifty years back into this world. And then, within a week, an arrow aimed by this very girl standing here in front of him would shatter it. In a few more weeks, perhaps a month, they would find a fox kit named Shippou...a while after that they would stumble across the wayward monk Miroku...and then the demon huntress, Sango. Each of them fighting with their own cause against...what was it again? Naraku? Hell? The ultimate evil determined to ruin their lives. The very word sounded vile.   
And this young woman standing here in front of him that he had just been introduced to had absolutely no idea that she was going to die so soon...._no_! She wasn't.   
With all of those returning memories also came the reason that he had this knowledge in the first place. This time it wouldn't be the same. This time she would live! He'd been given a second chance. He could change things this time. Despite the fact that he had just met her, it was amazing how strongly he felt on this particular issue. It would seem that simple two dimensional memories weren't the only thing that had lapsed over.

The next three years were lived according to the blueprint. Or so it seemed on the surface to Inuyasha. Everything went pretty much as it should. Indeed, Shippou, Miroku and Sango showed up right on time. Naraku once again kept up a rarely fading barrage of obstacles for them and the search for the shards went just as strangely (if not a bit more so) as it had before. However, some things had changed. Never major things. Always very minor things that would escape the notice of most. Like Shippou saying something that Inuyasha was certain he hadn't said before. Or perhaps someone took an extra piece of meat when they managed to have stew. Little things like that. Miroku avoided placing his hand in a considerably dangerous place when he had previously been most adamant about it. Small things like that.  
Inuyasha possessed two sets of memories. The memories from last time; from when everything had gone wrong in the end...and now these new memories that he was forming. Ideally these new memories would have been just like those from before...but they weren't. As normally unobservant as he was, Inuyasha noticed these small alterations. Though whether it was disturbing or a good sign he really didn't know. All he knew was that time was now running out. It was very close to when they would finally meet up with Naraku. Less than two days out their discovery of him would be a complete surprise to the others...but Inuyasha would be ready. Naraku was waiting for them up ahead...he thought he had finally gained enough strength to come against them in full. That he could come and take the rest of the Shikon no Tama. That thought seemed strange to Inuyasha's mind. Naraku had always been a bit of a coward before. He had either sent out puppets or one of his offspring to do his work. Why now, after all of this time, did he choose to reveal himself?  
This evening was one of those things that had changed from his memories of last time. The first time when everything had gone wrong he had been up in a tree pouting after getting into and completely losing a shouting match with Kagome over something. He forgot precisely what now. It hadn't come up again tonight, though he had his doubts as to whether or not he would have participated even if it had. In the back of his mind there was a nagging feeling that this time too he would lose Kagome, and that bothered him. To her own arrow or something else, he didn't know but that feeling was most definitely there. It was like a sense of impending doom. Doubtless though they would fight the battle and everyone would be beaten up, bruised, cut and probably barely surviving. But they'd be alive. And then Inuyasha would scold himself for worrying so wastefully over nothing. But the hanyou still couldn't shake the feeling and it was starting to get to him.  
He leaned back against the tree which was set a distance away from the usual fire and watched the others. Miroku had a look on his face that more than suggested that Sango had promised some payback for wandering fingers or some other hideous offense. Sango herself was artfully ignoring the monk and currently polishing Hiraikotsu perhaps a bit more carefully than usual, checking the surface over a few extra times for damage that could indicate a weakness. Both Shippou and Kirara were curled up next to the Taijia and sleeping peacefully. Kagome was digging through her oversized hiking pack for something or other. How could everyone be so peaceful? Of course, they didn't have any idea of what was coming. They were content in their simple ignorance.  
Though after a few moments it appeared that Kagome had noticed something. She had gotten up from her seat on her sleeping bag and was now making her way towards Inuyasha, a slight smile on her face. She seated herself on the ground next to him with an unreadable expression on her face. "Inuyasha, is there something wrong?"   
Inuyasha looked away, his ears pushing forward in an attempt to hide whatever it was that he was thinking. There was no answer to that question. At least...not yet. "Nothing."  
Kagome sighed almost inaudibly and settled herself back against the tree as well. Inuyasha turned his head back to her with a questioning look. What was she doing? This was different too. "What are you doing?"   
The girl kept her gaze fixed on the light spattering of grass and moss that covered the ground around the small roots and twigs that were visible all across the forest floor."I thought I'd stay with you a while. If that's okay. You always sit by yourself away from everyone...whether it's up in a tree or just away from the fire. You don't have to do that, you know."  
Kagome yawned sleepily and leaned over so that her head and shoulders were rested against Inuyasha. Well, this definitely hadn't happened last time. Inuyasha flushed lightly at the action but slid an arm around her shoulders. If things were different....this different so that he wasn't up in a tree sulking at losing an argument to the unbeatable Kagome then yes....he could save her. He was sure now.  
_You don't have to worry, Kagome. Everything will be fine. We'll defeat Naraku this time and everything will be just as it should. _

The two days passed quickly and the battle began once more with a fury. The instant that Naraku had shown himself Inuyasha had let off a Kaze no Kizu. The effect had been completely and totally annulled by the barrier. Now each of the fighters was busy waging their battles against their various opponents as best they could once more. Inuyasha was standing directly in front of Naraku, staying even closer to Kagome the entire time. He knew that last time around he had managed to find a weakness. A weakness that allowed him to entirely destroy Naraku but for the life of him he couldn't remember what. Out of the corner of his golden eyes, Inuyasha watched Kagura for any sign of movement directly against the pull of Kazaana. It seemed that Miroku was concentrating extremely hard on keeping the void aimed directly at the wind youkai. She was fighting it though...but something was off. Inuyasha spared a moment to glance around at where the others were.  
Shippou was still fighting Kanna. Her mirror had been shattered and now barely had any power what so ever. The fox kit was trying repeatedly to get in a good hit though without much luck. That was the same as last time for sure. A good way away Kirara had once more been cornered by youkai. She was growling furiously and struggling against them to try and move forward. That was the same as well. Behind him Kagome was shooting arrows at a group of youkai that was neither retreating nor advancing. That too was the same. Everything was the same.....except....Inuyasha turned his head swiftly over to the patch of trees where Sango had been fighting last time. She wasn't anywhere to be seen. Looking around more he found her, out in the middle of the field. Something here was most definitely different. Sango wasn't fighting at all. Inuyasha could clearly see the form of Kohaku lying along the ground in front of her and she was down on her knees beside him. Had she finally killed him? Who knew. At this precise moment in time Naraku had started laughing harder; mistaking Inuyasha's glances as a sign of insecurity. Inuyasha whipped around and renewed his grip on Tetsusaiga, the giant sword now pointed with anger and desperation towards Naraku.   
"Kagome! His shard! Where is it?!" He backed up a step, knowing that soon the deadly arrow would be unleashed and he would have to move quickly to alter its course. Could he even do that from this particular position? Kagome had taken a small step back as well, loosing another arrow even as she started to turn her head to look back towards Naraku. Good gods almighty, with her archery skills (or lack thereof) it was lucky she didn't injure herself. Her eyes looked past Inuyasha and to the towering form of Naraku, she seemed to spot the aura of the jewel instantly.   
"They're directly in the center!" She said as she reached for an arrow and drew it confidently from the confines of the quiver. She loosed the arrow with an expression of satisfaction that was rather amusing. Inuyasha nodded with determination.  
"Keh! So that's it!" He lifted Tetsusaiga as he prepared to charge...and froze. He had just remembered the weakness. Testing the air with his nose confirmed it. There was definitely something wrong with the entire area. He could smell the stench of Naraku oozing out from under the ground. However, there was something wrong here. That energy shield was a good hundred yards off at the very least, so why could Inuyasha smell the bastard through the ground here? Never mind that now. Ignoring his earlier intentions to attack, Inuyasha held his pose but did nothing. It was too close to that to try something now.

Miroku's eyes widened in alarm as his arm gave off a particularly strong pulse. Holding on as tight as he possibly could with his left hand, he turned to his eyes back to stare up at where Kagura had been. However, she had already left. The heavy blast of energy and wind that she had sent back towards Kazaana had sent her tumbling safely out of harms way and higher into the air above the battle. The monk turned his eyes back to Kazaana as the chaotic winds around him slowly died down leaving only the void in his hand pulling desperately at the atmosphere around him. Unable to even turn and warn Inuyasha of what he suspected was about to happen, Miroku stared in horrified fascination as the winds in his hand sputtered a bit before continuing back to their normal flow.   
  
Inuyasha could feel it the moment that the chaotic winds let up, he could smell it the moment everything sorted itself out when Kagura freed herself from the pull of Kazaana. Ears pricked towards the girl behind him, he listened for the twang of the bow. It seemed like an eternity passed before he heard it. There it was, the slapping of the bowstring and the slight flitting sound as the arrow zoomed off towards its target. Up above on her plume, Kagura moved the fan that she held and redirected the wind. In an amazingly fast movement Inuyasha pulled Kagome directly behind him, throwing her off balance and sending her sprawling to the ground. The hanyou stepped forward and, using his keen eyesight, spotted the arrow as it sped back towards him with incredible speed.   
In the blink of an eye Inuyasha had grabbed the end of his sleeve and used his fire rat coat to try and knock the arrow away. However the arrow was moving far too fast to be knocked out of the air by a mere swishing of cloth. The point penetrated the cloth and stuck deep into Inuyasha arm. The wooden shaft broke off and flew to the side, burying itself deep into the ground at his feet. Ignoring the pain in his arm he turned around and almost signed with relief. Kagome was fine. Shaken, perhaps, but fine. If they hadn't been in the middle of a battle he damn well would have hugged her.   
At the moment however there was another much more pressing issue at hand. Miroku was having more trouble than ever controlling Kazaana and now the current of air was sputtering wildly, curling outwards now rather than inwards with a strange pattern to the current. Damn it, they had to get rid of Naraku and fast! Inuyasha turned quickly back to Naraku and prepared to finish the fight. 

Over towards the center of the field Sango's battle had long since been forgotten. Somehow she'd managed to knock Kohaku unconscious. His breathing was shallow and choppy, undoubtedly he had broken bones probably beyond count and he would have one Hell of a headache when he woke up...but he was alive, barely. Just unconscious. The youkai around them weren't coming any closer. Perhaps they had been ordered not to attack anything that had to do with Naraku. Whatever it was, Sango wasn't going to leave Kohaku out in the open at the mercy of whatever wanted him. Just as she picked up his much smaller limp form, she heard it. A loud chuffing sound coming from the other end of the field. Turning her attention away from her younger sibling for a moment she looked to see what was going on. Clearly visible from her position, even through the clouds of dust and smoke, was what could only be Kazaana. Though the appearance of the wind wasn't a black vortex of air pulling inwards any more. Now it was a white swirling pillar of air shooting out of the hand of a terrified looking Miroku. The outer wall of wind swirled upwards while the entire thing shrank and grew with a pulse nearly like that of a heartbeat. Something was wrong. Looking up, Sango could also clearly see what was causing things to go wrong.   
Kagura was well aware of the fact that the monk was frozen in place from fear and the paralysis that the collapsing Kazaana was causing. However he was not gone yet. There was still a sliver of chance that if the monk managed to wrench those sealing beads back in place he could still be saved. To Naraku that was not considered a viable option. She had been told to make sure it didn't happen. This attack was extremely simple. All she would have to do was use a wind blade attack of some sort and tear the man apart. Unable to move like he was this would be like taking candy from a baby. The wind youkai floated behind Miroku, taking the safest route possible. This was almost too easy. She lifted her fan and prepared to send a rain of wind blades down upon him.  
"Kagura!" came the shout from a distance away. Sango, carrying Kohaku's limp form, had managed to sprint a hundred or so yards in the direction of Kagura and Miroku. She had set her brother's body out of harm's way and was now preparing to sling Hiraikotsu towards the airborne youkai. It would be luck alone if the giant boomerang actually hit it's target though. Between the winds from Kazaana and Kagura's own force it was next to impossible. The taijia looked extraordinarily imposing as she tightened her grip on one of the bands of cloth around Hiraikotsu and sent the weapon swirling through the murky air. 

At precisely the same time that Sango sent Hiraikotsu soaring, Inuyasha was preparing to send a Kaze no Kizu towards Naraku's main body. Using the weak point under the ground as his target Inuyasha aimed Tetsusaiga and swung the sword with all of his strength, sending waves of energy washing over the part-human's body and slicing deep into the barrier as it began to slowly give away. However this time it didn't go as smoothly. Naraku was fighting it. Struggling and writhing against the attack and preventing it from breaking entirely through the powerful barrier. The huge tentacles that were Naraku's hands and arms sprung out of the ground around them and began groping for anything to seize hold of. Inuyasha grabbed Kagome and jumped just as one massive limb swerved over where they had been. However Inuyasha was not quite fast enough to escape it. His jump had come just a moment too slow. The tentacle reached up and grabbed hold of Kagome's ankle and pulled her back towards the wriggling, squirming mass of shapeless body parts. Inuyasha grabbed on tight to Kagome as she was pulled down and was pulled down with her. Another massive tentacle however broke in-between the two and pulled Inuyasha away, flinging him off of Naraku's body. Kagome struggled against the many vine-like masses that now sought to choke her. They began wrapping their way around her body until she could no longer move her arms or legs. Another snaked around her throat. Without warning, the covering of pulsing limbs began to squeeze in unison.  
At first the pressure was almost bearable. After all pressure over such a large area cannot have an adverse effect if it isn't great enough. It was quickly discovered that that hold was only a mild sampler of the true strength. The grip tightened without warning and Kagome's body began pushing in on itself. The first sound heard actually wasn't the cracking of bones that you'd expect but a light popping sound. Blood in Kagome's shoulders and head rushed to the thinnest points of veins in her eyes, the inside of her mouth and her ears easily popping the membranes. A watery red consumed her normally brown gaze, dripped out of her ears and ran slowly down her chin. Still quite able to feel the incomprehensible pressure, though no longer able to breathe due to a crushed windpipe, Kagome could feel as her the bones in her arms and hands were crushed and her ribs gave way to the pressure. The last thing she saw was the dusty impression of daylight, somewhere far in the distance as her entire world seeped to black.  
Inuyasha had barely been able to get to his feet in time to see her limp, crushed form be tossed carelessly through the air with a single motion. One slimy appendage reached out and snatched the small jar of Shikon shards from Kagome's broken neck as her body fell limply to the ground some distance away from Inuyasha. Acting entirely on instinct, Inuyasha ran over to her and placed himself in-between the remains and Naraku as he prepared once more to launch a Kaze no Kizu. 

Kagura barely even turned towards Sango as she saw the weapon flying towards her. Miroku however wrenched his eyes off of his hand just in time to see Kagura lift her fan and with a flick of her wrist send a gust of wind towards the boomerang. Hiraikotsu slowed and then for a second froze in mid air before it started spinning back towards Sango. The young exterminators eyes went wide as she saw the bone spin as if trapped in mid air for a second before it came hurdling back down with incredible force. Turning with the agility that only a fighter like herself could have possessed she made a mad dash for safety. The giant weapon however sailed along a warm breeze just across the ground, gaining momentum as it swung towards it's owner and in one smooth move caught her high on the neck. The weapon hit directly beneath the base of her skull, knocking her head forward on impact. With a bright flash of light and a sudden spark of pain in her eyes Sango lost consciousness. Still spinning however the exterminators weapon had not finished. The second spoke had been knocked slightly off course by the first strike. As both taijia and the weapon headed towards ground, the bone hit one last time across the middle of hr neck. Aided by the force of Kagura's wind and it's terrific weight it easily caught and pulled the musculature of her neck. Ripping muscle, skin and blood vessels alike the rough surface easily tore at her neck and head, ending its horrific run only when the young woman's mostly severed head and body struck the grassy clearing floor with a sickening sound. The boomerang fell to the ground and toppled over to lay innocently beside its owner.   
Miroku watched in horror as all of this happened, the distraction pulling his mind completely off of the searing pain coursing through every inch of his right side. His fingers now flexed uncontrollably as the muscles in his right arm spasmed with the effort of keeping it straight up. He could only tear his eyes away from the corpse of the seemingly indestructible huntress when bright streams of light lit the field around him. Inuyasha finally managed to pull off the powerful Kaze no Kizu that he had needed much earlier. Large chunks of flesh flew away from the main body, unidentifiable substances spurted into the air and a noxious gas covered the entire area. 

The end of Naraku was neither satisfying nor at all helpful for the anger, frustration and sadness currently consuming the mind of Inuyasha. Kagome's mangled body was just behind him. He didn't want to look at her right now. It was as if he had failed in some way. Failure should be completely unacceptable. His eyes scanned the vast expanse of Naraku's remains in search of the Shikon shards. Surprisingly they were only a short ways away, visible yet again in the midst of a puddle of green liquid that was currently oozing a putrid scent and dusky yellow foam. The shard that Naraku had and the ones in the small, half-melted glass container were together. Of course they would be. The shards were drawn to the largest portion of the jewel itself. Inuyasha picked up both, but made an attempt at wiping the glass off with the sleeve of his robes, frowning when the acidic substance on it ate a hole in the red fur. Inuyasha slid the coat off and, along with the shards, placed it over Kagome's body to cover as much as possible. Her crushed frame was no longer visible beneath the folds of material. It was enough to make the hanyou sick....the bone pushing out through skin, those eyes that were no longer even human. Kagome shouldn't be anything but smiling and happy. Now she was dead. Once more, she was gone.   
Miroku was kneeling beside Sango's still form. Shippou was beside the monk. Once Kagura and Kanna had vanished after their freedom had been restored, he had gone to the nearest person he saw as a protector. The kitsune cub however was rather uncertain of how to react to what he saw when he got there.   
"She's dead! She's dead! Wailed the kit as he buried his face into Miroku's robes in an attempt to wash the horrible sight from his mind, willing it all to be his imagination. If Miroku had had any more sense about him he would have probably herded the child off; the mess that was Sango's nearly headless body shouldn't be seen by children. Especially Shippou, who had practically counted everyone in the group as family...though especially Sango. However the monk wasn't in much of any shape to be taking any responsibility. Considering his past experiences with death as well as his own nearly escaped ending though, he was probably taking this fairly well. To be entirely truthful he felt rather numb about the situation. Some part of his mind acting like a safety device and blocking off any emotional reaction to the situation. He reached one hand up to close her eyes that stared blankly out at nothing. It was an automatic reaction on his part, they would open again due to muscle reactions in a few moments.   
As an afterthought, Miroku looked to where he could have sworn he'd seen her place Kohaku. There was nothing there now though. Perhaps he was just looking for something to take his mind off of this. Things had gone very badly in this battle. Worse than in any other he'd seen.

Three weeks later Inuyasha sat beside the well just outside of Kaede's village rubbing the place in his arm where the arrow point had gone in. Once more he had been pitted against the ultimate enemy and once more he had lost. Death, the perfect predator that it was, had once again captured and devoured its prey. This time though it had taken another payment. Kagome had been lost once more...but where had he made the mistake? He had saved her from the arrow, taken every caution that he could think of. Stayed beside her every minute and still...still she had died. Sango too. Only Inuyasha and Shippou had returned to the village. Miroku had stayed back with Kirara though neither Inuyasha nor Shippou could ever fully comprehend why. It was beyond their comprehension. Once more Inuyasha had returned the shards to Kaede. Once more he had taken Kagome's belongings back to her mother and explained. Once more he wished for a way to undo it all.  
He had undone it before. Couldn't he do the same again? Things had been different, yes. Worse, yes. But if they were worse, couldn't they also be made better? Wasn't there always the chance that he could repair each piece of damage that had been done? Of course. There was no reason that Kagome or Sango had to stay dead. He could bring them back, save them both!  
Inuyasha turned and jumped into the well, digging furiously. Repeating his motions from last time he punched the side of the well and jumped out, watching with a satisfied expression on his face as yet again the dirt tumbled in to fill the well. There. Now this time he could -

Crack. 

Three years in the past Inuyasha opened his eyes to the dark night. Kagome was coming now. There was no lapse in memory at all. Things would be different, he would change it. This time he would succeed.

_To be continued..._  
(Authors Note: I know that's not what Kazaana's supposed to be like, just bear with me on this point. I promise that it'll be worth it. ^_^ Thanks to all those that have reviewed so far!) 


	3. Chapter Three

  
Golden eyes stared out at the dark night that surrounded them. Inuyasha's senses were all tuned towards the area in the trees that his mind told him Kagome would come hurdling down from in a few moments. In his mind he knew that he should at least be trying to repeat the empty actions he knew had happened before. He should reach for the arrow, feign loathing at the rejection of its removal...if only to ensure that no other aberrations could make the past...future, now...worse than it was before. The hanyou could actually feel his right hand twitching of its own accord as it longed to reach for the arrow that pinned him to a tree. Those actions that had happened for the first time six years ago in his memory were supposed to happen. Changing them willfully felt wrong somehow as if he had changed something that he shouldn't have. The sense of urgency to find Kagome faded from his mind and he allowed himself to sink back into those actions that he knew should happen. It seemed almost as if something were controlling his body as he heard himself curse when his mind realized that he was pinned to a tree with a seal arrow and unable to remove it with his own two hands. No matter how much he tried to fight to either control his actions or lose himself in them though he continued to carry out a strange mixture of actions that had happened before as well as adding in new things. His face was still pointed towards the arrow buried in his chest, certainly....but both eyes were now searching the trees for any signs of a girl falling through the canopy. For any sign at all.  
The time that it took for her to finally come flying through the air and land with a skidding halt at the foot of the tree seemed so long that Inuyasha almost sighed with relief when she finally made her appearance. There had been a moment when he had begun to wonder if she was ever going to arrive at all. Looking at her now for the first time...well, third first time technically, he wondered how he could have ever compared her with Kikyou. Though their appearances were the same there was a marked difference in how they acted and carried themselves that made appearance completely irrelevant. Kagome was Kagome. She was like no one else he knew.  
"Ouch!" It was almost amusing how she complained. Minor bruises and scrapes and she still protested. In a couple years she could suffer much worse and not make a sound. Nonetheless Inuyasha tried to let that conscious mind that remembered everything have a bit less control. Almost instantly he could hear himself speaking.  
"Oi Kikyou! Why are you wasting your time with that centipede?" He didn't expect an answer. Kagome seemed too preoccupied with her scraped hands and knees to care much about some person she thought was either sleeping or dead who was pinned to a tree. However after a moment her head lifted to look up at him. The expression on her face was blank. Not the empty sort of emotionless blank that you saw on a person that had been possessed or that was ill. It was the blank look of confusion and uncertainty. How long would it be until she stopped using a hopelessly clueless expression like that? A year? Two perhaps? This admittedly weak young woman sitting in front of a tree was also completely different from how she would be in time. Previously consumed with fury and hatred towards the person that had pinned him to a tree Inuyasha had never really been able to notice. It was rather amazing, actually.  
Blinkingly Kagome asked "You're alive?"  
Hold on a minute...she'd just asked if he was alive. Which had to mean that she'd seen him before when he'd been sealed to the tree in a state of consciousness that could only be compared to someone held in limbo. Death had its cold hand around him but he had also been unable to leave. He made a mental note to ask her about it sometime in the future. She'd never mentioned it herself.  
Resisting the temptation to put on an early charade of not knowing what was going on and just getting himself out of the situation early Inuyasha responded "Kill her with a single blow, Kikyou! Just like when you killed me."  
Kagome had gone completely still by this time. Like she didn't understand a single thing he was saying...which, of course, she didn't. Her reaction was probably like what his would be if someone called him Kouga. Despite the fact that his mind told him that it was madness on her part he wondered how he couldn't have noticed the extreme confusion riddling both her expression and posture. Even for someone as dense as him it should have been fairly obvious. Right? He leaned forward a bit and called "What's the matter, Kikyou? Lost your mind already Kikyou?"   
The young woman got to her feet and promptly demanded "Kikyou? Who's this Kikyou? Listen up, you! My name is..."   
As much as he would have liked to hear her finish that he was still following the script that he could clearly see running through his memory. Putting on his best bored voice as he pulled his gaze away from her he mildly commented "She's coming."  
Inuyasha almost entirely ignored what was going on around him as the centipede descended and once more the villagers harpooned her. He was wondering just how much had changed and now he was wondering if the only truly lethal source of danger would come when they faced Naraku once more. It was true that over the next three years they would encounter uncountable dangers and there would be once or twice when (if he hadn't seen it twice before) he would believe that Kagome had indeed died...but the deciding moment had always come at the very end of the tiresome journey. With Naraku. Inuyasha scolded himself for practically obsessing over it. That was stupid. Of course it would be that battle that would decide everything and he would have to be more cautious than ever. Thinking too much about it now wasn't helping any. It was just making his imagination think that he could smell Naraku now too. That was no good at all. He turned his attention back to the chaos around him. Raising his voice he shouted "Keh! You're hopeless, Kikyou!"  
Kagome turned immediately to focus an intense glare on him. She was most definitely annoyed. If he'd had the rosary at this point that look would have been enough to strike a deep fear in his heart in the form of a painful threat. "Hey you! Don't confuse me with someone else!"   
She seemed to have been able to climb up that root in no time, he noted. He hadn't even really seen her move. Intensifying that look of hers with all her might she declared "I told you that I'm not Kikyou!"  
"Shut up!" came Inuyasha's almost automatic response. "What other woman could possibly give off a scent like you?"   
He didn't even bother to scent the air. He waited a moment and then with as much surprise as he could fake said "You're not...Kikyou."  
"Got it? My name is Kagome! Ka-Go-Me!" 

A month passed. Then two. Then three. Time just seemed to keep on turning without any care for what would happen in the future or what had happened in the past. Yet again though things had changed. These weren't small things like the last time either. These things were much more significant. Miroku showed up late for one thing. They found him in another village at a later time and on slightly more peaceful circumstances than when they'd met him for the first time. When Sango showed up Myouga was no where to be seen. It had been Inuyasha who made the call that she didn't seem like she was acting as a normal human would. The very out-of-character comment from the normally uncaring hanyou pulled some strange looks from both Kagome and Miroku but in the end it had the same result. Sango traveled with them now as always though she was a bit more aloof than she had been before. The taijiya also seemed to have a darker side to her personality that Inuyasha hadn't noticed before. She avoided sitting near the group almost as much as he had. Shippou never even appeared.  
About a year into the search for the shards Inuyasha managed to find an opportunity to ask Kagome about the comment she'd made at the tree. Something about that seemed important though it was beyond his reasoning why such a simple thing would ever be considered important to anyone. All that she told him in response to the question was that she had gone into the well house to retrieve Buyo and was then pulled through the well and found by the people from Kaede's village. The answer was evasive, quiet and it seemed like she had other things on her mind. Figuring that there was nothing more to learn he left it be. After all pressing the question would be changing something and changing too much might make the future worse. Though there was always the chance that it might make it better...well, some things were better if not left to chance.

It was now only two days until they would find Naraku. Once again the shouting match that he still remembered (though it was admittedly a bit fuzzy) hadn't come up. Once more Kagome had come and sat with him and once more she had leaned herself up against him. The evening was perfectly peaceful. On a night like this it wasn't hard to believe that all of the past disastrous tries at keeping the group alive were all just a nightmare. Some silly, empty bit of imagination and that life from here on out would be perfect. No troubles. No worries. Everything was fine. And for everyone else in the group that's precisely how they were acting.   
The formerly dark and reclusive air that Sango seemed to have had worn off a bit about six months previous. Currently she was blushing at something she'd probably said without thinking. Miroku was laughing though the monk was putting forth an admirable effort to stifle his amusement at whatever she had said or done. The look on the taijiya's face was practically blank other than the blush though. The monk was in more danger than usual. Curiously, Kirara was nowhere to be seen. Probably curled up just out of sight behind someone. If the situation had been different he might have bothered to find out precisely what was so amusing.   
Kagome seemed to have fallen asleep, pressing her face into Inuyasha's shoulder and mumbling something that he couldn't quite make out. There was a blush on his face to rival Sango's about now. His thoughts kept wandering though. It was well beyond him how anyone could rest when such incredible danger was waiting only a short ways down the road. The hanyou tried to push the thoughts of what waited for them just down the road from his mind. He didn't want to think about that. Especially not now.  
Inuyasha closed his eyes and listened to the sounds of the night around him. Hushed laughter as well as a hurried, embarrassed plea to stop laughing in the direction of the fire. Kagome's breath on his shoulder. The wind through the trees. And other than that....nothing. Complete silence. Immediately his golden eyes snapped open and he sniffed the air for some clue as to what was going on. The scent on the wind was unmistakable.   
Naraku.  
He was two days early! Dammit. Never count on your least favorite enemy to be on schedule. As carefully as he could Inuyasha shook Kagome's shoulders to wake her up. Then, standing once she'd regained her own footing he walked over to the fire and motioned for Miroku and Sango to get read.  
"What is it?" Sango was the first to ask. Unlike Miroku or Kagome she wouldn't be able to feel the aura...nor could she smell the poisonous scent like Inuyasha could. Had she been so handicapped last time? Who knew. Regardless though she had already switched from polishing Hiraikotsu to having one hand on the band of cloth that she usually used to carry it around when they weren't fighting. Slightly strange though she might have been during this life Sango was extraordinarily reliable. Though it could be suspected that she just enjoyed the violence.  
Miroku had already figured it out. His demeanor had gone from relaxed and comfortable to ready to fight in an unbelievably short time. His left had had already strayed to the beads on his right. They all knew that there was really only one danger now that all of the shards had been found by either their small group or Naraku. And they had been traveling too long now without any sign of the baboon skin cloaked hanyou. "I was wondering when he was going to show up." However Miroku shot a look to Inuyasha for confirmation. "Naraku?"   
Inuyasha was glaring out at the darkness, struggling to see the attacker. "Definitely."   
There was just one small problem. Though Inuyasha could smell Naraku he could not smell Kagura. Or Kanna. Or Kohaku or any of the other rather repetitiously named puppets of Naraku. It was Naraku and only Naraku that had decided to meet them. Inuyasha took a couple steps closer to Kagome now without even realizing that he'd done so. Never taking his eyes off of the darkness around him he listened for any sign of Naraku's impending arrival in their formerly quiet camp. Inuyasha wondered if this camp would soon be made into a shrine to the dead.  
It started as little more than a quiet scratching in the branches and leaves of the trees off to Inuyasha's left. A quiet and normally unobtrusive sound like that of a breeze blowing in autumn. And then it came. A massive attack that could have only come from Kagura, wind blades slamming into the ground around them as everyone was driving apart by the proximity of the cutting winds. Inuyasha tried to get to Kagome's side but was unable to drive through the falling particles. Though it was obvious that Kagura could neither be smelled or seen she was obviously here. That meant that they had found a new way to hide themselves even more effectively. Damn it all...they were even more dangerous than they had been last time.  
Inuyasha's eyes scanned the small clearing to see precisely where everyone was as he tried to keep himself from being cut in two. Sango was being driven back to the trees though she was trying to move back inwards. The clearing might be sixty feet across this time, if that. They hadn't been traveling for two days after all. The settings were different. Miroku had found a better solution. The monk had situated himself directly in front of the line of fire. Though Inuyasha hadn't noticed it the wind blades were only striking after a certain point. She had to be up in the trees then. She was definitely not in the air or on the ground if she couldn't hit one area.   
Launching himself across the short distance towards Kagome (who had taken up her usual post of looking rather confused while standing still when being told to run away) he ran haphazardly dodging the ever present danger from about. He pulled Kagome off of her feet and carrying her ran from the former safety near the fire to what could be the even more treacherous refuge of the tree line a short distance off. Inuyasha pulled off his hi-nezumi coat and put it around her shoulders.  
"Use this. It won't keep you completely safe but it's better than nothing."  
"But Inuyasha -" she protested. Inuyasha lifted one clawed finger and pressed it to his lips as he glanced this way and that into the forest around them. Something was coming. The hanyou instinctively pressed himself closer to the girl as he waited for whatever or whoever it was to show itself. The light click of chains. The hiss of a blade being launched into the air. Inuyasha pulled Kagome to him and jumped just as the end of a professionally sharpened sickle buried itself deep within the tree that they had been standing in front of. Inuyasha turned his head to see Kohaku standing on a branch well above them. Once more Inuyasha realized that he could not smell him and the boys appearance now was distorted as if he were an illusion. Squinting Inuyasha realized that what was actually obscuring his scent and aura was nothing more or less than a layer of extremely fast moving air. Apparently this time around Kagura had been able to perfect whatever technique it was that she had been using to keep herself from the pull of Kazaana. That fast moving air would certainly ensure that even when in battle neither scent nor aura would ever cross it.   
Kohaku turned his head to watch the hanyou and the human girl. His blank eyes studied the seen as he unconsciously lined up a better position for an attack. Inuyasha kept Kagome behind him and looked for a better way to escape what could quickly become a very lethal barrage. He couldn't attack Kohaku. If anyone would it would be Sango. 

Sango fought her way through the never ending attack that Kagura had launched. The taijiya was trying to get through to the area where the attack stopped in front of where it originated. It was a blind spot of sorts about three feet from the trees. Wherever their attacker was she obviously couldn't hit that particular area for whatever reason. Miroku had already reached it and was searching the tree with his eyes for Kagura or any of the other offspring that Naraku might have in the area. Though he hadn't unleashed Kazaana yet it was obvious that he was ready to at a moments notice. His left hand was fisted tightly around his right wrist. His fingers were clenching and unclenching unconsciously against the beads over his palm.  
Finally Sango managed to clear the area targeted by Kagura that was now clearly marked by pulverized ground. She trotted up to Miroku. "Houshi-sama?"  
"Kagura. She's right there." He said, motioning with his head in the direction of a clump of foliage on one of the trees. It hung nearly directly above them. No wonder Kagura couldn't hit the area. "There's something else here."  
Sango positioned herself so that the two of them were in a better position to defend and attack - back to back with the most likely enemy attack points off to their left and right. She held Hiraikotsu, ready to attack and kill anything that came towards them. However nothing did. Even Kagura had stopped attacking though she still hadn't shown herself. Then they heard it. Off on the exact opposite side of the small cleared area. A tremendous cracking noise immediately followed by a crash. Despite themselves they turned their attention towards it just in time to see a blur of red, white and green moving just barely fast enough to avoid the relentless attacks by the taijiya boy that was gliding easily through the air behind them.

Inuyasha was carrying Kagome in his arms and running as fast as his legs would take him through the maze of trees and bushes. Kohaku was not letting up at all and seemed to be gaining speed as easily as the hanyou had. It wasn't impossible to think that perhaps the Shikon shard that sustained Kohaku's life could also increase speed but this was almost too much. In his mind Inuyasha knew that he wouldn't be able to keep up the fast pace that he had set especially not with the overgrown forest around them. Kagome pulled herself into a tighter ball curled up against his chest. It was safer to carry her this way since she couldn't be hit by the sickle without it going through him first. Hopefully he would be able to make certain that that would never happen. He could hear the purring sound of the sharp blade and its chain flying through the air.  
Click.  
That had been a close call. He'd probably be missing some hair later thanks to the proximity of the attack. Launching himself a few feet in the air Inuyasha landed with almost feline agility on a tree trunk that was bent over partially from age. Since Kohaku's attacks were entirely horizontal the best way to avoid it might be to get as far from the ground as possible. Pulling all the energy that he could to his legs Inuyasha launched himself into the air. Or tried at least. The tree that he had been standing on gave way under the strength of the push. With a resounding crash the entire thing broke off and toppled awkwardly towards the side. Slamming into the ground it made a loud noise that startled everyone but Kohaku it seemed. Inuyasha had managed to make it into the air but he hadn't made it as high as he would have liked. Well within striking distance the danger had increased rather than decreased.

Kohaku stopped his pursuit for a moment and began to ready himself for another throw. This time the blow would be successful. If he threw it at a new angle and then pulled it back the chain and sickle would cut the hanyou and his miko in half. And since all of the force would be from the filthy hanyous own forward momentum he would be the one who killed them both. Master liked that. Master was telling him to do it and quickly before that woman and the monk decided to interfere. Kohaku did. 

On the ground a good twelve or fifteen feet away Sango watched with horror as her brother loosed what promised to be a lethal attack if it hit its mark. There was no doubt that the boy would once more throw the point for the center of Inuyasha's back and pull downwards. It was the only attack he knew for crying out loud! But still...Sango lifted Hiraikotsu above her head and with two quick swings of her arm sent the weapon flying through the air towards the chain. The bone hurdled towards the metal links and struck them with unbelievable force.  
  
Hiraikotsu struck the chain with amazing force and immediately whipped the sickle backwards. Having already passed the targets that it had been aiming for the bladed weapon lashed backwards and down. Moving too fast for Inuyasha to deflect it cut easily through the coat wrapped around Kagome and sank deep into her side until for a brief instant all that the terrified Inuyasha could see was chain. Then just as fast as it had cut into the girl it was pulled back taking with it an amazing amount of blood as well as unidentifiable masses of tissue and pieces of cloth. Kagome's mouth flew open in a soundless scream as her eyes flew wide. Inuyasha seemed to tumble from the sky all the while clutching the girl to him. On the ground he turned his eyes down to her face as she let out a sickening cough.  
Her skin was covered in blood that was leaking from the corners of her mouth. Her brown eyes were wide and staring up at him fiddled with terror. Only now realizing just how much blood was covering her clothing as well as his own arms and legs he let out an inaudible gasp. She was still alive and awake through all of this. He hoped to whatever Gods existed that she couldn't feel anything..   
The hanyou set the girl down on the ground and pressed a hand to her side in a futile attempt to stop the bleeding. He couldn't even see a wound through all of the blood that was now covering her side and seeping into the grass. Quickly putting one clawed hand behind her head he tried to help her sit up partially hoping that might be more comfortable. Kagome's eyes were now darting back and forth very quickly down towards her stomach and back up again to meet Inuyasha's own. Her mouth was working as if she were trying to form words but unable to do so. Catching her left hand when she tried to lift it and failed he stared with all of his attention on Kagome. These were the last moments he would see her; he knew it. White ears picked up the barest hint of sound and he leaned in closer to hear what she was trying to say.  
Kagome's words caught in her throat to be replaced instead by a hacking cough, splattering blood across Inuyasha's face and shoulder. Her eyes had a rather distant look about them now, clouded almost. Inuyasha tightened his grip on her hand. Ignoring the crimson droplets now running down his face he tuned all of his attention onto what she was trying to say.  
"I-Inu...Ya...sha...I...l...lo-" she cut off in the middle of what she was saying; a spasm wracked her entire body and for one instant every single muscle in her snapped taught. And then with a vague look of surprise on her face she simply...stopped. Her body fell back completely relaxed. She was gone.   
Inuyasha pulled her form to him and hugged it as if it were the only thing keeping him alive. No more. There would be no more. He'd made his decision now. If he had to see something like this again he was certain it really would kill him.

Elsewhere on the field Sango was in shock. The young woman was frozen in place with a dangerously blank look on her face. Miroku doubted that there was anything that would snap her out of this state for a few moments at least. Despite what had just happened this was most definitely not a good time for another one of her self loathing mindsets. Kohaku had turned to face them, sensing weakness in the sudden absence of Hiraikotsu. The bone had buried itself two feet in the ground a good distance off with most of its bulk still clearly visible even from this distance. Hurrying to put himself in-between Sango and the now approaching Kohaku Miroku pulled his staff in front of him at a diagonal angle. It wouldn't provide much in the way of defense especially against Kohaku...but it was better than nothing. The boy it seemed was taking his time in getting to them; walking very slowly and swinging his weapon in casual circles to his right side. In fact judging from Kohaku's normal attacks as the monk knew them the boy was getting to close to use one. Something was up. It wasn't like Naraku to use such an obvious decoy though. Miroku steadied the grip he had on his staff and began to look for some sign of another attack. There was none. And at this precise moment Kohaku's sickle had been thrown into the air and was aiming directly for Miroku's right hand.  
Behind Miroku Sango was starting to regain her mind. The first thing she heard was a light scratching...like fingernails against a ceramic vase. Then a slight splintering. And then her eyes flew wide as she realized that Kagura had once more begun her attack. Whether it was her instinct as a taijiya or the fear of losing something this cleared her mind faster than any words of consolation ever could. "Houshi-sama! Look out!"  
Sango turned and grabbed Miroku, yanking the very surprised monk out of the way just as Kohaku's sickle struck the air where his hand had been moving for an attack and only inches from where a large portion of Kagura's attack had struck. She herself managed to jump out of the way almost entirely; escaping the rain of wind and debris that poured down on the area by a very short distance indeed. Her leg stung though, badly. No doubt she'd been scratched by the twigs and stones that had been swept into the highly concentrated wind that Naraku's offspring had shot at them. They both got to their feet. Miroku's left hand automatically grabbed the beads on his right. "I've had about enough of this, I think."   
Stepping once more in front of Sango he lifted his hand towards the area that Kagura was undoubtedly in and loosed the beads and cloth. Kazaana lurched to life and began to pull strongly at the branches of the tree ripping leaves and twigs and then slowly larger branches, entire clumps of green off of it. Miroku braced his right arm with his left and glared up in defiance.  
Sango stood behind the monk now with her sword in hand as she watched Kohaku's movements warily. The boy was just standing there about eight feet away from her casually swinging his weapon as if he were going to do something. But he didn't. Sango was watching for any tensing in the muscles in his chest, shoulder, arms or legs that might indicate action. As far as she could see there was none. Was he waiting for someone? For something to happen? At that moment however Miroku let out a strangled gasp as a shooting pain began coursing up his arm from the palm of his right hand. Sango turned her head automatically out of concern and at that precise moment Kohaku loosed his weapon, sending it flying towards Miroku's outstretched hand.   
Sango saw what was happening out of the corner of her eye and did the first thing that came into mind. She thrust the sword in her hand upwards at the chain in the hopes that it would catch in the links as they sped past. However unlike using the sword to pin the links to the ground trying to hold the weapon and catch the chain proved impossible. The sword struck the metal at a strange angle and flew backwards, a portion of the dull edge of the sword sinking into the skin of her shoulder from the sheer force of being thrown back. Unable to move her arm to any great success the Taijiya couldn't do much of anything but watch as the sickle completed its arc and struck Miroku's hand, ripping at the flesh and bone it found and pulling the cloth from his hand. His arm was now out of control and shaking beyond belief. It wrenched itself out of his left hand. Miroku turned his head as best he could and screamed "SANGO! RUN! Get as far away from here as you possibly can! NOW!"  
Almost immediately Sango turned around and threw her one good arm around Miroku's waist. "No." 

Inuyasha's nose picked up the change in the wind; the smell of death the very second that Kohaku's sickle made the fatal strike. From the short distance of fifteen feet away he knew that there was no way he was going to be able to clear the destruction if he didn't move. Grabbing Kagome's body he launched himself towards the other end of the clearing. It was obvious what was going to happen. Now from the safer distance of fifty feet he watched as a blinding mask of black air consumed the entire area obscuring the forms of the people within. For as far as he could see a chaotic wind was blowing branches, leaves and dust into the air like a tornado. And then it was all over. Just like that. There was no flash of light. No real sound. Nothing. Just...nothing. Clearly visible in the ground now there was a crater that covered more than half of the clearing. The trees around the edge were toppled and twisted like wire dolls. Was this it? Was this the end? The worst it could possibly be? All of his friends were dead. He couldn't save them. It was stupid. STUPID. Why did he think he could?   
Inuyasha's thoughts were interrupted by a low growl and the sound of a very familiar laugh directly behind him. Turning his head Inuyasha saw that standing not more than five feet away was the false form of Naraku. It didn't smell like a Kugutsu. At his side Kirara's fur was bristling in her own full form, her eyes hazy and her fangs bared. Naraku stood in place even as Kirara paced in a tight circle laughing quietly for a moment before he spoke.  
"You're the last. Go."  
Kirara shot forward, her immense claws swiping at Inuyasha's back and knocking the hanyou completely off balance. Kagome's body fell from his arms to the ground beside him as he sprung out of the way, entirely ignoring the pain from the burning cuts across his back. Inuyasha fisted both hands together and swung at the nekomatta, missing completely as the feline jumped easily out of the way. He turned to face Naraku. He'd vanished. Dammit! Kirara shot forward again cutting off the lengthy string of curses running through his mind. The cat was slashing wildly with both front paws and fangs once more across muscle and skin cutting deep into Inuyasha's side. Inuyasha swung a fist hard and struck her on the head. It wasn't enough to kill or even seriously injure but there was no doubt that she wouldn't be waking up any time soon. Getting to his feet Inuyasha glared out at the forest in front of him and screamed "Naraku, you bastard! Show yourself right now so I can fucking rip you to pieces!"  
The hanyou turned just in time to avoid being impaled on one long, disturbingly purple tentacle as Naraku answered his challenge. The false form and baboon coat were mostly abandoned though pieces of white fluffy were occasionally visible in what had become a pulsing, oozing ball of flesh that vaguely resembled a spider. Each of the legs were made of countless youkai bodies, their eyes staring lifelessly out from all sides. Arms that looked almost human stretched through past rupturing skin as the spider-like abdomen assumed a more recognizable form. Half-spider and half-human. Oozing in-between branches while attacking him that bastards true form was herding him..._herding him_...towards the fucking crater!  
Now free from the confines of the forest Inuyasha was beyond certain that any side effect of Tetsusaiga's extreme destructive power wouldn't do any harm to himself...or the others. Inuyasha reached for the handle of the sword and pulled it from it's sheath, bracing it with both hands as he quickly stopped his retreat and sank the blade into every squirming bit of Naraku that was within range. Small sparks of energy seemed to come off the sword each time it buried itself in the putrid flesh. Inuyasha was lost in the moment. Completely lost in the all consuming rage that he felt towards this person who had dared to steal his friends from him despite everything he tried to protect them. It was completely unacceptable! Both master and sword wished to rip apart this abomination against youkai and humans. With his right hand Inuyasha gripped Tetsusaiga and clumsily swung the sword and with his left he reached out and tried to pull Naraku closer. The instinctive reaction from the psuedo-hanyou was instantaneous. Naraku's true form pulled back against the grip, ridding itself of another limb as each one of Naraku's senses detected danger. His own eyes flying up to see he much weaker opponent. Naraku saw that Inuyasha's eyes had bled almost entirely red. Only a few burning specks of gold remained in the now blue irises and yet for all intensive purposes he could swear...

Inuyasha could tell that his form had shifted. The heavier weight of the full youkai fangs on his bottom lip, the way his eyes seemed to perceive the pulse in rhythm and pulse rather than line and color...how on Earth had he kept his mind...and why? Tetsusaiga was in his hand though the weight could barely be felt. His longer claws against the sword felt out of place. Why not just drop the sword and rip Naraku apart bit by stinking bit with his bare hands? Yes, that sounded much better. A lot more fun and so much better than holding some stupid stick and swinging it around. His left hand landed on one of the many flailing limbs extending from the main body and squeezed. Claws and fingers sank into the filthy surface as a bloody acid began to eat into the skin of his hand. Inuyasha's mind was only slightly blurred even as he moved forward steadily towards the main body, ripping apart any extraneous piece of flesh that came close enough to be cut away or ripped off with fingers.  
Inuyasha's continual pulling had certainly added to the fact that inadvertently Naraku had sandwiched himself against a cliff. It was true that the group had been camping in a mountainous region but the nearest rock walls had to be at least three miles away. How had some weak, useless hanyou like Inuyasha succeeded in covering that much distance in so little time? Naraku was now trying to grab and rip at Inuyasha's clothing, hair and skin with every part of his body possible. Sending in Saimyoushou in the hopes of poisoning him. Each piece of flesh to even come near the dog hanyou was ripped away. Inuyasha's hair was tangled, matted and melting away with the effects of the acid. His skin was dotted red with the flecks of it that had been burnt off by the burning liquid that was the blood of Naraku. Even his clothing was shredded beyond recognition. He barely noticed that his right hand was bleeding, the skin torn away from swinging too heavily with Tetsusaiga using only one hand. His mind was drifting in and out of a conscious state of mind while he continued the constant destruction. Inuyasha knew only one thing. Naraku must die. Soon.  
The psuedo-hanyou was now in a very difficult position. Towering over Inuyasha though he was, Naraku's attempts to keep Inuyasha away from himself could almost be described as frantic. His hind legs scrambled upwards against the rough black rock. Pebbles and small chips of stone fell away as Naraku discovered that he could back away no further from the seemingly crazed Inuyasha that was now almost to him. Using two of his foremost legs Naraku grabbed him and threw the hanyou as far away from him as possible. He watched with satisfaction as Inuyasha struck the ground with a sickening thump. He should have known that the fool was all bark and no bite.  
He never even saw it coming. Inuyasha pulled himself to his feet and gripped Tetsusaiga firmly in both hands. His eyes were practically glowing red as he stared towards where he knew Naraku was. The hanyou could see nothing but swirling clouds of wind in front of him. Youki. Colliding clouds of youki that marked the perfect doorway to ultimate destruction. Pulling all the power he could to the blade Inuyasha swung Tetsusaiga with all of his might and at the top of his lungs screamed "BAKURYUUHA!"

That had been almost two weeks ago. Inuyasha could barely even remember destroying Naraku. He probably would never fully understand why his form had shifted or how, for the most part, he had been able to keep his mind. Perhaps the entire transformation had happened because of the fury he had felt at the time. Was that even possible?  
He had buried Kagome beside the crater under one of the still standing trees. He couldn't perform any rites and there were no villages near enough to find someone who could. Who had ever heard of a hanyou performing a religious ceremony for the benefit of the dead?  
He had gone back to find Kirara. He never did. The place where he had knocked her out was completely empty except for the debris and Kagome. Perhaps the Nekomatta had returned to her former village.   
Inuyasha had only moments ago handed the Shikon no Tama to Kaede. It wasn't complete. There were still three shards missing. Kouga had two of them and undoubtedly Inuyasha would have to retrieve them. Kohaku had the last. There was a good chance that the last shard would never be found. Surely the boy had not escaped Kazaana.   
Inuyasha was currently sitting on the lip of the well with Kagome's bag resting beside him. He hadn't gone over yet to explain to her mother what had happened. He hated this part the worst. It was just as bad as seeing all of the previous things happen. Undoubtedly because of the guilt he felt. Mrs. Higurashi had always been unfailingly kind. She had always shown a trust in his protection of her daughter and didn't doubt that every time Kagome left she was safe. Not this time. Inuyasha tightened his hand on one of the backpacks straps and shoved himself into the well. The cold darkness was a welcome distraction from what was coming. 

Inuyasha was sitting on a chair partially slumped with his elbows on his knees, hands clasped in front of him. Mrs. Higurashi was sitting in a chair a few feet off to his right. The look on her face was curious and slightly concerned but she hadn't said anything since Inuyasha had shown up. Perhaps she could read something in his posture or the expression on his face. Unlike his older brother, Inuyasha couldn't keep all the emotions he felt from showing. Even if he tried his hardest people could always tell. He opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out. He couldn't seem to find the words that he'd said last time. What had it been? Something about failing? An apology? Anything at all?  
"Kagome isn't coming back, is she?" Inuyasha's eyes shot up to look as Mrs. Higurashi asked the question. Neither of the two times before had she said something when he failed to come up with some quick word explaining why he had come out of the well alone save for the pack. The woman was staring out of a window across the room. "It's what she wanted, I think. She knew it would happen eventually. The books..."  
She paused for a minute and then continued. Inuyasha stayed silent, listening to what she had to say. "The history books that our shrine has kept for generations. Every day when she was little I would read a little bit out of them to her. They kept our minds off of things when ever something went wrong. They tell the entire history of the shrine. Even back to the legend of the Shikon no Tama. I did not know that when I was reading those stories I was reading what would happen to my daughter. But...yes, in the end I'm sure that's what she wanted. Thank you for taking care of her."   
Inuyasha remained silent. He felt out of place as if he had no right whatsoever to be sitting there. So without saying anything else he left. He caught a glimpse of Souta and his mother through one of the windows before he entered the well house. The look on the young boys face was enough to remind him of just why he was no longer welcome in this place. There was something about the well house that seemed almost welcoming to Inuyasha. Perhaps it was that it meant that he or Kagome would be returning to his proper time. Perhaps there really was something out of place here in the future. Whatever it was it was gone now. The well house seemed cold and forbidding. The hanyou disappeared into the well.

In all honesty Inuyasha had no real purpose after that time. Nothing that he needed to do, no real goal to be met. Gather the Shikon shards that were remaining, yes, but even that was a task that ended in failure. Kouga had refused to give up his shards of course. Inuyasha had told the him that Kagome was dead when asked why she wasn't with him. The wolf blamed him for it. The stupid, ignorant wolf tried to kill him for revenge. Idly Inuyasha had wondered at that time whether or not to let him. That thought was quickly brushed aside and Inuyasha had fought back. Kouga probably would not be able to walk for quite some time, if ever. Inuyasha had retrieved the shards.  
After that there had been no more rumors of shards. Nothing at all to indicate that Kohaku had escaped the fury of Kazaana with his life. It would seem that Naraku who had wanted the Shikon no Tama so much had in part at least contributed to its destruction through the curse.  
In time Inuyasha faded into the background as all around him the world began to change and everything around him faded from almost primitive to having a sort of violent civilization. Waterways were exploited for better trade. Foreigners came and went and then came and stayed. Humans multiplied. Youkai diminished. After a while, three hundred years perhaps, youkai had become nothing more than legend. Kitsune were something that people talked about without really believing. Youkai, oni and mononoke were talked about only in faerye tales. No one remembered. It had been a very, very long time since Inuyasha had seen a youkai. It was entirely possible that aside from a few lesser youkai and the odd kitsune he was one of the last. Youkai, daiyoukai and hanyou had vanished entirely. They had been wiped out by war or each other. Or even Naraku who had contributed to the eventual extinction of their kind.  
Inuyasha had left the small village where Kaede where Kaede had lived after returning Kouga's shards to her. He had wandered across the countryside searching for something. He didn't know what. He didn't particularly care. His life adapted to be nearly identical to that of a human in time. He found that by cutting his hair, keeping it in a knot and covering both hair and ears with something he could even pass for a human if he avoided eye contact. He continued to drift in and out of villages. After a while villages turned into towns. Inuyasha headed back towards Kaede's village and paused once he had come close enough to see. The village was no longer a village at all. It was a city. Still quaint, yes...and still slightly backwards. But it was no longer just some nameless collection of small homes. Many of the streets were filled with people. The smells of oil, grease and filth came from the entire area. The smell of commerce. Inuyasha walked down into the city towards the place that his mind marked off as being Kaede's home. The only thing there now was a dirt path that lead up towards a vaguely familiar shrine several hundred yards in the distance. This city was beginning to look right in his mind. But it still stank of war. How long would it be until things would be as he wanted them to be? There were things that he needed to do and he had waited so long to do them but still he was too early. The hanyou left.  
It was another one hundred and thirty some years before he found himself back in the place that was now called Tokyo. The first modern city of Japan was now as Inuyasha recognized it. However the hanyou had lived so long that he had no real idea if he was in precisely the right time. Perhaps he had shown up too late? Or again, far too early.  
The Higurashi shrine was just as he remembered it. The picture of it was refreshed in his mind after nearly five hundred years of wandering the countryside alone. In the shrine yard a woman with shoulder length wavy hair was carrying a baby as a little girl of five or six tugged on her shirt and pointed off in the distance at something she'd seen in a tree. The little girl turned just for an instant. Kagome. Those eyes were unmistakable.  
Inuyasha was amazed at the feeling that swept over him. A combination of awe, relief and something else he dared not identify. Here he was standing and watching a little girl that he knew had died five hundred years ago. A little girl that would be so much more than just some little girl in time. It was beyond comprehension. Everything suddenly seemed so strange.  
It was true that nothing was the same. He was aging. His body was growing old though in truth he might live to see another century or two finish itself out. He was no longer young. His appearance hadn't aged that much but his body...and she was far younger than when he had first met her at the tree. What would it be? Ten years? Perhaps twelve before she wandered into the well house? No. That was the problem. She couldn't go into the well house in the first place.  
True though it was that if the Jewel had never been broken most of their problems would never have occured...however, it had not been the shattering of the Shikon no Tama that was the start of all the problems. If he truly wanted to save Kagome, no matter what the cost, Inuyasha knew in his heart that she could never come through the well. Ever. She could never travel back to the feudal era. Could never unseal him from the tree. She could never even know that he existed. And for all of this he would most likely still remember everything about her. This was a sacrifice he was willing to make. He would stay near the shrine and wait for as long as it took to make sure that she would never again enter the well house. Whether or not it would work was another question. Would time simply repeat itself again? Would things start over right from the beginning again and repeat the painful cycle that had threatened to rob him of all sanity?

Only time would tell.

Inuyasha waited inside of the well house. It was almost time. He was certain of it now. If there were any doubts in his mind then they had been cleared out earlier by the fact that Kagome's grandfather had come in earlier and forgotten to slide the door shut. They were always extremely careful about keeping the door shut. Inuyasha remembered when he asked Kagome about the comment at the tree. She had responded that the only reason she had gone into the well house was because Buyo had gone in and Souta had gone in looking for the cat. Inuyasha watched as Souta and Buyo came out of the house, the boy following the cat curiously as it ambled along aimlessly, chasing dust ghosts with more enthusiasm than Inuyasha had ever seen the cat muster. Quietly he slid the door shut.

....and everything changed.  
  
Inuyasha took a long, deep breath and looked out at the darkness. There was no forest. There was no moonlight pouring through a canopy of leaves. There was wood. There were old containers, jars and documents. Boxes filled with nameless items of little importance to anyone. And through a section of wooden holes light shone through the doors of the well house, partially illuminating the area around him. Inuyasha searched his memories of this time, shoving away the memories of the previous three lives he had lived. He was quite sure of one thing.  
Inuyasha had never met a girl named Kagome from the future. Indeed, he had never had a conversation with an old woman named Kaede that claimed to be that brat that was Kikyou's little sister. He had no idea who Miroku was or why the name Sango seemed so familiar. He had no idea who Naraku might be or why he felt such hatred towards him. After all he had been a recluse most of his life. The seal arrow had rotted nearly two hundred years ago and fallen apart. Once he was set free he had made a point of avoiding people of any sort. He didn't want a repeat of the sealing; humans were just as dangerous as youkai. Undoubtedly though, he thought, Kikyou had not had the will power to truly place an eternal seal on the arrow. Or perhaps she had failed to take into account the fact that though the seal itself might be permanent the object it had been placed on was not.  
Turning to open the door and leave Inuyasha reached a hand up to scratch at an itch on his neck. And froze. His fingers had hit beads. Rosary beads.

[To be continued]

----  
_Authors Note: Well, this is rather off the wall, I'll admit. To be entirely honest I got rather fed up with it around the point where I killed Kagome (...it's really such a cheesy scene) and this entire chapter nearly drove me bonkers trying to finish it! So I worked on it while I was half asleep. Which explains a lot. At any rate...everything shall be explained! Want to know what happens? Stay tuned for the next chapter! Thanks to everyone that's reviewed so far. _

_On another strange note, has anyone else seen the preview for Butterfly Effect? I only saw it when I went to see Return of the King. The resemblance to this story creeped me out a bit._


	4. Chapter Four

  
Inuyasha froze immediately. The disturbing sense of chilling cold was descending upon him faster than anything he'd ever known. Rosary beads. What was going on here? This wasn't possible. This _wasn't_ possible! He had never met Kagome in this life! There was no chance in Hell that he'd even seen Kaede after the sealing. The rosary beads shouldn't even be in existence let alone be strung around his neck as they had always been before. Closing his rough fingers around the beads Inuyasha lifted the necklace upwards to eye level and then further still, cursing when he felt that no longer familiar crackling static that made it quite plain that a barrier would make sure that the hanyou would never have the power to remove the enchantment himself. The magic of the beads and the spell in them still worked and it appeared that currently Inuyasha was still under the powerful effects of the fearsome Osuwari. How and why eluded his mind for the moment. According to these new memories that were flooding his mind, no...this new reality, it was truly impossible that these were here now.  
The beads tumbled back down to settle on the T-shirt that he was wearing with a soft clicking sound. Inuyasha slid the door to the small well house open slightly just in time to catch a glimpse of Kagome's dark hair head down through the yard and off towards her school. Surprisingly his mind was entirely void of thought. Perhaps because in his mind there was no possible explanation to be found for all of this; no rationalization could be made.  
Or...  
Inuyasha's eyes widened slightly as Kagome disappeared down the top of the stairs and towards the street below. The Shikon no Tama existed in this time as well, in Kagome and in its own whole form. Something which couldn't possibly happen. It wasn't that it couldn't happen so much as that it was beyond dangerous. The Shikon shards in themselves had the ability to restore life to the dead no matter how small they were, even at a hundredth of the original size they possessed great power. If left in a human being, a living human being...even if they were the reincarnation of the guardian of the Shikon no Tama...it could very possibly mean that not only would that person be entirely incapable of dying but that a serious balance of power had been shifted to one person.   
The Shikon no Tama had the ability to grant wishes, to manipulate lives...even to change a persons soul at times...and currently all of that power and the ability to use it belonged to one person. Perhaps she had never really been meant to control that power in the first place. Just as Kikyou's control over the jewel had been cut short by.....certain things.  
As quietly as physically possible Inuyasha slid out of the small building and followed the girl. 

The day passed with an almost agonizingly slow speed. Inuyasha spent most of it on the roof of the school, thanking whatever gods were in existence that five hundred years of waiting had granted him patience for once. A few more hours and the classes would let out and she would emerge from the school safe and happy. The many, many times in the several past realities that he had come to visit her at her school had assured him that she was in no danger here. She was constantly surrounded by her friends (albeit strange friends, in his opinion) and other than extreme carelessness on every humans part even she wouldn't be able to find trouble here.  
Only when the sounds surrounding the building shifted to include the quiet, busy murmuring that could only be the countless students, discussing the mostly trivial things like boyfriends and homework that they considered important, did Inuyasha bother to move from his perch. Luckily for him none of the students had opted to escape to the rooftop at any point during the day. From the lip of the rooftop Inuyasha peered out over the numerous piles of black and brown hair that were quickly populating the sidewalks. Kagome was there somewhere and Inuyasha was determined to follow her. Something was telling him that something would happen. He didn't know what but it seemed important. Perhaps beyond important.  
Kagome however was blissfully unaware of his presence though, chatting with her ever present group of friends and heading away from the building. She wasn't all that far from her home distance wise but it still had always seemed to make for an eventful walk every other time Inuyasha had followed her in the past/ At the moment though the girl looked as if she had nothing to worry about in the world. Well, other than homework at least.   
Traveling with her friends, the small herd of teenagers was currently heading down the street towards their favorite place to swap gossip and life stories over a cheap burger and some slightly watered down cola. WacDonalds.  
Inuyasha had been trailing the girls for a fairly long time now. Keeping a long distance behind them and traveling on top of various buildings to keep an eye on them was very effective in hiding his presence, it would seem. But he stopped the moment that they also stopped, pausing alongside a sidewalk and greeting a new person who was now rolling up to them on a bike. It was a young man with neatly combed brown hair. Golden eyes narrowed at seeing this. Inuyasha knew that boy. That was the boy that had helped Kagome with those "test" things when she was sick a long time ago. He was one of Kagome's friends. Oh, Inuyasha had no issues with that. So long as that human boy kept a respectful distance from Kagome and showed no real interest in her, Inuyasha had no problem with it at all. Really. Of course, this lack of problem didn't stop the hanyou from moving from a rooftop to the alley beside where the girls were standing. Peering around the corner his eyes narrowed further. That boy was smiling brightly at Kagome and offering her something. Inuyasha twitched on reflex Taking a look at Kagome he twitched yet again. She was accepting the gift and smiling back. Telling himself that things were different now Inuyasha tried to reign in his instincts. This wasn't five hundred years in the past. This wasn't his Kagome....then again, had she really ever been? He'd never actually done anything to show that he had intended on keeping her with him after everything was finished, had he? Disturbed by that thought Inuyasha brushed it off to tell himself again that he couldn't interfere with this. This wasn't the Kagome he knew. This was a much different Kagome. No, the same Kagome...just with a different life, if that were possible to understand.  
Well, that's what he told himself, but then the human boy just had to reach out and catch one of Kagome's hands with his own. Inuyasha's hands tensed automatically and he moved to step out into plain vi--

"Dammit! Inukoro, wake up and fight me like you mean it!" Inuyasha's eyes flew open just in time to dodge the extremely heavy punch that had been thrown at him by one very angry wolf youkai. Kouga turned on one heel and slammed his right foot into Inuyasha's stomach when the hanyou made no move to attack, stunning him slightly.  
_What the Hell?_  
Recovering as best he could Inuyasha threw a swift strike of his own, punching the armor-covered shoulder with enough force to send Kouga spinning. Cursing heavily Kouga tossed himself into the air towards Inuyasha with little effort and came down kicking with a fury that sent the hanyou flying a few yards into the distance.  
Moving to defend automatically Inuyasha's mind was racing. This wasn't possible. Just like the rosary beads, it wasn't possible. What had happened? Just a minute ago he'd been watching Kagome and her friends with that human boy in their time. Kouga wasn't even alive any more for crying out loud! The stupid wolf had been dead for the better part of three centuries, unless preventing Kagome from ever coming through the well had somehow changed that too. Then he knew. This was the fight to get Kouga's shards back, after the last time Kagome had died. Had he dreamed the rest of it or something?  
Inuyasha jumped just in time to avoid being kicked once more by the wolfs powerful legs and in turn snaked out one arm to grab hold of one of Kouga's ankles. Not giving him a single chance to respond in such short a period of time he twisted and slammed his opponent into the ground. Jumping out of the way just in time to avoid a backlash of furious kicks as Kouga made a quick recovery Inuyasha half shouted, half growled, "Just give me the shards, wolf!"   
"Like Hell! I think I'd rather just kill you." Responded the wolf readily, not missing a beat and trying to grab a handhold on Inuyasha's clothing for an altered repeat of the last move that had been used on himself. Thinking quickly Inuyasha balled a hard fist at the motion, ducked and pushed all of his strength behind a punch that nearly crushed the left leg of his opponent. Shocked by the sudden intense pain Kouga tumbled haplessly to the ground, a small pink shard tumbling out of the gash in his leg and into a pool of blood that had started to form when Inuyasha had turned the fist into an open handed grab for whatever he could catch. His sharp claws had easily shredded through muscle; like a knife through butter.   
Now flat on his back and unable to use his left leg at all Kouga propped himself up on his hands, dark hair tumbling down over his shoulders. Unwilling to give up he flipped himself over with a grunt so that he was resting on the palm of his left hand and the ball of his right foot as well as his knee. Glaring up with disgust at the not-quite-equally battered hanyou he spat "You haven't won yet, bastard. You'll pay for what you did to her."  
With an amazing bust of speed so fast that Inuyasha could barely see him move the wolf youkai had managed to throw himself onto his remaining foot and launched himself in an attack against Inuyasha. Inuyasha balled another fist and prepared to remove the other shard from the stubborn youkai's other leg when he heard something. And froze.  
"Inuyasha?"  
Kagome's voice! But it couldn't be...she was dead. Ignoring that fact in the face of something much stronger than death Inuyasha's concentration wavered as he looked around the entire area, searching for the source of the voice. Completely oblivious to anything around him except the sound of that voice. But she wasn't there. Of course she wasn't. Stupid.  
"Keep your eyes on who you're fighting, mutt!"  
_Thump._ Inuyasha felt a blinding pain against the back of his head and sank into a cool darkness.

"Inuyasha? Are you awake? Please wake up..."  
The first things Inuyasha registered as he opened his eyes were a familiar ceiling and the sound of a long missed voice. Jolting awake finally he lay very still where he was for a moment as he tried to get his bearings. Blinking once or twice to clear the last effects of sleep from his eyes he used one arm to raise himself up to a sitting position...and stopped. Sitting less than a foot away at his side, a worried expression on her face as she stared right back at him was Kagome. Inuyasha reached out with both hands and pulled her to him, nearly crushing her smaller frame against him.  
"Inuyasha?" she asked, returning the embrace questioningly and still with a hint of worry to her voice. "Are you all right?"  
Unable to say much of anything at the moment Inuyasha just held on to her even tighter. It was almost impossible for him to believe that she was here. That she was alive. Had it all been a dream? It didn't matter. Kagome was here. Kagome was fine. For the moment that was all that mattered, though he doubted he'd believe it had all been a dream even if he lived another five hundred years. Not noticing that the others had come into the hut Inuyasha started when he heard Miroku's voice announcing to Sango and Shippou that he was awake.  
"Mou, we keep telling him that we need to take more breaks while we're traveling." Sango commented as she came into the small building, "Are you all right?"   
Inuyasha just nodded rather blankly, releasing his hold on Kagome and feeling rather disappointed as she pulled away to right her posture. "What happened?"  
"You don't remember?" asked Miroku, frowning darkly when Inuyasha shook his head in response. It was quite disturbing, Inuyasha. You just fell over. It was as if you had passed out and were it anyone but you that would have been an acceptable explanation, but..."  
"That's what walking so long without rest will do to you. I'm going to go find Kaede." Sango said, raising herself up to her feet and exiting. 

And like that it had ended. It seemed like it had happened ages ago though in truth it had only been a little over a week. Inuyasha still had trouble absorbing the fact that whatever the weird spell of unconsciousness was and whatever things he had seen while he was out were just a dream. They had been so real that it seemed beyond his comprehension how something like that could be just a little piece of overactive imagination. The dreams did have their lasting effects though. Inuyasha had not let Kagome out of his site for more than an instant, much to her annoyance, since he had woken up. Everyone expected the now grumpy hanyou to lighten up after a few days. He didn't.   
Now he was sitting beside the well with his back leaned up against it. His fingers were running over and over the beads on the rosary fastened around his neck. He hadn't tried to see if he could remove it; he didn't want to remove it any more. It's reappearance even after the last time in the dream had instilled in his mind a sort of odd belief that in some way Kagome (and symbolically the rosary) were meant to be in his life and there was no way that he would want to remove them now, was there? Kagome herself was there with him, checking over her heavy hiking pack as she prepared for another trip back to the modern world. Heavens forbid she forget a text book, after all.  
Kneeling down beside him Kagome smiled apologetically. "Are you still mad? I said I was sorry."  
The incident in question involved Inuyasha's more than adamant demands that she not leave his sight when ever possible while in the Feudal era. It had resulted in a rather powerful version of the sit spell and Inuyasha's instant bad mood for most of the afternoon.   
"I said I'm not angry." He sighed in response. He hated her leaving again. He knew he could always follow her through the well but there was some part of his mind that told him that he should stay here for once and let her taste her normal life for a while. Avoiding her eyes as best he could he turned to look off into the distance instead of facing her. Kagome smiled again and then went back to packing her back before lifting it up onto the lip of the well. Then, stopping, she turned to face Inuyasha.   
"Ne, Inuyasha. You know how last week you asked how I first fell through the well? Why did you want to know?" 

End.   
--------  
_Authors Note:_ Well, I'm dead tired. Literally. So tired that I can barely comprehend the words I'm typing so I'll make this short. Honestly, lately I've really started to hate this story which explains why this final chapter is so short. This story is unimaginative, plain and boring in my opinion and well below what I can do. In a few months I may or may not rewrite this, make it more detailed and more interesting but until then it will remain up in this form. If you have been interested enough to read through to the end then I ask that you please leave some feed back. Tell me it sucked or tell me you loved it, I don't care. I just want to know your opinion. Also, please check out my other stories. I'll be adding a few more stories which may be of interest to you within the near future. Thank you for reading Time and Again, I hope you enjoyed the story. 

And after formatting the story for upload, I must say that I have fallen in love with spell check and will be running away with it to get married a week after I release my next story.


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